Opposition to Amendment 3's spending caps rallies at state Capitol

Florida
religious leaders, labor unions and senior citizens marched to the state
Capitol on Monday to protest a proposed constitutional amendment they say will
lead to massive cuts to education and crucial social services.

Calling the revenue-capping Amendment 3 a “wolf in sheep’s
clothing,” the group of about 50 said the proposal would slash education
funding and pit seniors against the poor in a scramble for limited state
dollars.

“This will not be good for the great citizens of the state
of Florida,” said Rev. Richard Dunn, a Miami
pastor and former city commissioner. “It will not be good for our children, it
will not be good for our seniors and it will not be good for the middle class
people.”

Amendment
3 proposes to change the way state revenue caps are set—using a formula
based on population size and inflation, rather than personal income growth.
Once state revenue from taxes and other sources exceeds the new caps, excess
money would be used to shore up a budget stabilization “rainy day” fund.

Proponents of Amendment 3—which include business groups—say it
will force state lawmakers to spend more wisely and avoid overspending during
times of economic growth.

"The less government takes, the more Floridians will keep," said Edie Ousley, a spokesperson for the Florida Chamber of Commerce. "Voting yes on Amendment 3 will send a message to our state leaders that the size of Florida’s government shouldn’t grow faster than the taxpayers capacity to pay for it.”

Outgoing Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt
Island, was a major
backer of the “smart cap” amendment, saying it would lead to “less, government,
less taxes and more freedom.”

After the proposal was approved by the Senate last year,
Haridopolos released a video calling it “a common sense idea that finally makes
sure that government spending never grows faster than family income, meaning
when the economy recovers we will not overspend.”

But opponents—who have begun to mobilize in religious
groups, labor unions and senior communities—predict a much grimmer scenario.

At least two speakers at Monday’s rally bluntly stated that Amendment
3 would be “deadly.” Flyers used by the No on Three campaign show a menacing
wolf in sheep-costume lurking among a flock of unsuspecting sheep.

According to Dunn, who represented Miami’s
poorest neighborhoods in District 5, the cuts engendered by the new cap would
be brutal to the urban poor in Florida.

“It would be devastating, it would be detrimental and,
ultimately, it would be deadly,” he said. “Whenever you start tampering with
education, with children, there’s no good end to that.”

A similar proposal was approved in Colorado in 1992, but was later suspended by
voters in that state. Voters in several other states have rejected similar
proposals, the No On 3 campaign said.

Other speakers claimed that voters should reject all 11
constitutional amendments on this year’s lengthy
ballot, which features a number of controversial proposals on issues like abortion,
property taxes and state funding for religious institutions.

Amendments require 60 percent of the vote to be added to the
state’s constitution.

Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho told the group of protestors that all of this year’s
amendments represent “political issues placed on the ballot for political
purposes.”

“Since 1968, when we amended the Constitution, this is the
first general election in which all of these constitutional amendments have
been placed here by the Florida Legislature, not by citizens,” said Sancho, who
was joined at the rally by representatives from the AARP, Florida Alliance for
Retired Americans, and PICO United Florida, a network of 60 congregations.

Dunn said he’d be voting against, “most, if not all, of the
amendments.”